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12 years into Sidr: Bagerhat residents yet to get durable embankment
Twelve years ago, another much stronger cyclone, 'Sidr', took a similar path to ‘Bulbul’ that ripped through the coastal districts, including Bagerhat.
‘Bulbul’ leaves trail of despair in Bhola
On the fateful night when cyclone Bulbul hit the coast, six people were at home, including Nilufar Begum, her husband and son. The cyclone took away everything that was in their home, even the pots and pans.
Cyclone Bulbul: 1 lakh still without electricity in Bagerhat
The electricity supply system of Bagerhat Rural Electrification Board (REB) was severely affected by the cyclonic storm Bulbul that lashed the country’s coastal districts in the early hours of Sunday.
BNP’s political fortune tends to fall further amid ‘infighting’
Already cornered in politics after the drubbing in the 11th parliamentary election, BNP’s comeback now looks even harder, thanks to its growing infighting and desertion.
Hilsa full of eggs flood Chandpur, Khulna markets
About 90 percent Hilsa available in Khulna and Chandpur markets after a 22-day fishing embargo are full of eggs, triggering fears of poor production in the next season and prompting calls for extending the fishing ban.
It looks to be alarming given the fact that only 15 percent of the Hilsa caught in the previous year had eggs in them, officials said.
Eighty-five percent of Hilsa caught in Khulna this time contain eggs, said Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation Manager of Khulna region Md Jahidul Islam.
He said the wholesale markets at Boro Rail Station fish jetty in Chandpur and those along the shore are packed with Hilsa with eggs since 90 percent of the catch is mother Hilsa.
The government had imposed a 22-day ban from October 9 to October 30 on catching, selling, storing and transporting Hilsa during its peak breeding period. But mother Hilsa could not finish releasing eggs.
Consequently, shoals of mother Hilsa full of eggs have been caught by fishermen after the ban was lifted.
Lack of rains delayed the cycle. “Hilsa breeding is related to rainfall,” said Professor Abdul Wahab, who is leading the ECOFISHBD Project of WorldFish.
Bangladesh’s southern region did not receive much rain this monsoon. It recorded only 143mm of rainfall in June and 235mm in July. Last year, it was 220mm in June and 367mm in July.
Prof Wahab said he was surprised that most of the fish contained eggs.
Fish traders in Chandpur said the production will fall if the breeding is not protected. They feared the national fish will face extinction if mother Hilsa continues to be caught at this rate.
They say the fishing ban during the breeding season should have been extended by 10-12 days.
Chandpur Fisheries Officer Md Asadul Baki claimed the drive to protect mother Hilsa was successful. “That’s why the fishermen have been able to catch a huge quantity of Hilsa,” he said, claiming that 80 percent Hilsa have released eggs.
Dr Anisur Rahman of the Fisheries Research Institute said they need a few more days to determine the percentage of mother Hilsas that have released eggs.
In Khulna, Hilsa weighing 1 kg was selling at Tk 800. The same size of fish is selling at Tk 700 in Chandpur. But the huge supply of the fish is hardly making people happy.
“Hilsas with eggs don’t taste good,” one of the buyers said.
‘Dream house’ made out of plastic bottles dazzles Cumilla people
A traffic policeman is turning heads with his environment-friendly dream house made out of sand-filled discarded plastic bottles in Latia area of Homna municipality.
The house is almost complete except the roof, said Shafiqul Islam, the owner. “It’ll look more beautiful once the roof is constructed.”
Located beside the road at Ward No. 9, the impressive five-room structure is attracting the people passing by. Many sceptics are touching the wall to dispel their doubts.
“The house will remain cool in summer and hot in winter because of the sand in the bottles,” Shafiqul said, as he tirelessly tried to quench the people’s curiosity and answer their endless queries with patience.
He said the most common question he gets is what inspired him to choose plastic bottles as construction material.
Speaking to UNB, he said he got the idea from a newspaper article in 2011.
The report about a three-storied house in Japan made of plastic bottles took him to YouTube and he went on to do more research.
“I’ve so far used 80,000 bottles and have over 20,000 in stock,” he said. “I bought these bottles from trash shops in Dhaka and Cumilla.”
Reports about the house have piqued the interest of Homna Upazila Engineer Jahirul Islam, who told UNB that he would visit it soon.
Shafiqul said he first made two and a half feet foundation for the house before builidng the wall.
“Fire won't spread as every bottle is filled with sand and it won’t be damaged by earthquakes either because of the construction material,” he said.
“On top of it all, the house cost 30 percent less than a brick house would,” Shafiqul said.
9th DLF bids farewell in November drizzle
Cyclone Bulbul’s entourage includes copious amounts of rainfall wherever it passes, as well as advance delegations that drenched the entire venue of the Dhaka Literature Festival, the sprawling grounds of Bangla Academy.
People brave November rain to attend Dhaka Lit Fest
Dhaka, Nov 9 (UNB) – November rain could not wash away the joy of celebrating global literature on the second day of the Dhaka Lit Fest.
No metre yet from Bangladesh’s first-ever prepaid metre-manufacturing plant
Bangladesh’s first-ever electric prepaid metre-manufacturing plant has failed to start its commercial operation as it is already running nearly four months behind the schedule.
Disaster Management Ministry to oversee aid programme for erosion victims
Poor, landless and destitute families affected by river erosion would be given financial aid based on losses suffered and number of family members.